


how to date your best friend

by crosspolination



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Bad Flirting, Bad Pick-Up Lines, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Love Declarations With Kenny Crow, M/M, Man Desperately Tries To Woo Best Friend, Mindless Fluff, Noctis desperately trying to get Prompto to realize he loves him, Obliviousness, Pining, Said Best Friend Doesn't Realize That, but Prompto is the Bro We Are Teens meme so who can blame him, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-05 20:33:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11021067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crosspolination/pseuds/crosspolination
Summary: “Yes, I’m reading a magazine with articles on how to date your best friend. Happy now?” he spits out all in one breath, ignoring how embarrassing the entire sentence sounds. Is he a kid?“…I wasn’t gonna ask, but alright,” Gladio shrugs, a wicked grin slowly spreading across his features. Damn it. “Who’re you trying to date, huh, Prince Charming?”“Prompto,” Noctis says, and it comes out more miserable than he intended.Magazines fucking suck with advice when it comes to Noctis and Prompto.





	how to date your best friend

 

Noctis’ eyes scan the magazine, quickly disregarding every single useless fact, which sadly seemed to be the entire case. He gives one look over his shoulder, only to find Gladio staring at him with a mix of confusion and amusement. Noctis tries to not look startled when he catches Gladio staring, tries hard to pretend he’s not reading the magazine, but his body language must betray him because he senses Gladio’s footsteps coming for him, and he freezes on his spot.

He lowers the magazine slowly, like if he pretended that it was not there, Gladio wouldn’t ask him. But of course that’s not what happens. Of course Gladio wouldn’t ignore Noctis’ extremely jumpy and defensive behavior. So before he even _asks_ , Noctis says:

“Yes, I’m reading a magazine with articles on how to date your best friend. Happy now?” he spits out all in one breath, ignoring how _embarrassing_ the entire sentence sounds. Is he a kid?

“…I wasn’t gonna _ask_ , but alright,” Gladio shrugs, a wicked grin slowly spreading across his features. _Damn it_. “Who’re you trying to date, huh, Prince Charming?”

Maybe Noctis shouldn’t have reacted like that. He _wasn’t_ going to ask, damn it. Why, of all of the times in the world, would he choose _now_ to be an impulsive person? Gladio keeps looking at him with that same shit-eating grin. He _knows_ , he just wants Noctis to say it. He closes the magazine and tucks it underneath his arm.

“Prompto,” Noctis says, and it comes out more miserable than he intended. “Like you didn’t know that already.”

“Yeah, I knew. Just wanted to hear you say it,” he laughs, and then puts an arm around Noctis’ shoulders. Noctis tries to get out of it, he’s not _that_ in the mood to be teased, but. Gladio is probably nine foot tall and thrice his weight. Obviously, an exaggeration, but – Noctis has no chance to escape him. “Aren’t you like, five years late?”

Noctis sighs. “I’m not five years late.”

“You met him when you were fifteen. You’ve had that silly look on your eyes for him for years now,” Gladio chuckles. “Trust me – I know what I’m sayin’ when I say you’re five years late.”

“Ha, okay, sure,” Noctis responds dismissively – he knows that. Everybody knows that. Everyone but Prompto, apparently. “I like to take my time.”

“I can tell. So, you’re gonna do it?”

“Probably,” Noctis says. Gladio sighs.

“What are you so afraid of? Do you realize it’s your best friend you’re talking about?”

 _Yes_ , that’s exactly what Noctis is afraid of. Prompto _is_ his best friend. This is a path Noctis hasn’t walked before — friendships were already a bit hard for him, sometimes. A romantic relationship implied work, implied a million responsibilities that Noctis couldn’t handle. Hell, he’s already struggling with the whole _royalty_ thing. This road-trip was supposed to just be a short vacation, a quick relief before Noctis was thrown to his coronation, and he’s already suffering with a made up conflict. The point is – relationships scare him. He doesn’t want to see Prompto as work. He just wants to hold his hand and kiss him whenever he wants.

“I don’t know,” he tries to lie. “It’s just hard when I’ve never been on a date before.”

“What did your magazine say?”

Had it not been for the genuine interest in his eyes, Noctis would’ve rolled his eyes at Gladio’s amused question. Instead, he carries on:

“It said something about deciding what I want when I date my best friend and sorting out my feelings. Not very helpful.”

“Come on. It is helpful. Anything else?”

“I don’t know,” he repeats. “ _Someone_ interrupted my lecture.”

Gladio snorts. “Okay, that one’s on me. Come on, let’s keep shopping.”

Luckily for him, Gladio doesn’t ask any more questions about the Prompto situation, and he gets quite distracted by talking to people at Lestallum. Taking advantage of the distraction, Noctis pulls out the magazine again, reading over the lines again. _If you want to date your best friend, make sure you introduce the idea slowly!_ Yeah, he’s been quite slow these past few years. _Break the touch barrier! Show physical affection!_ Okay, this is overwhelming.

There _is_ a point, though. They’re not exactly the most touchy-feely people in the world, are they? He shoves Prompto playfully, gives him little slaps every now and then, but. Has it ever been anything more than that? Beyond sharing bed in camp and ending up in a horrifying mess of tangled limbs, has he ever made a conscious effort to shatter the invisible barrier between his hands and Prompto? No.

That seems like a good place to start as any.

He goes back to their hotel where Ignis is waiting for the ingredients, and after checking in on everything, he finally manages to ask him where Prompto is. Pointedly ignoring Gladio’s smirk, Noctis listens to Ignis tell him that Prompto is on the overlook, probably still taking photos.

True to his word, Prompto is at the overlook, taking photos of people Noctis has never seen in his life with a big grin on his face. He stares at the whole scene play out, he sees Prompto talking to his new models excitedly, and he wonders how his heart has not imploded with love by now. Noctis groans internally. That’s too _sappy_. Just as he starts pitying himself for loving his best friend so much, Prompto’s eyes finally find him. The gigantic smile Prompto offers him doesn’t make his heart jump – only brings him peacefulness.

He groans internally again. This has been a typical thought since he’s fifteen.

“Noct!” he greets, waving excitedly, and Noctis approaches him with a smile. “There you are! I was missing my prime model over here!”

“Oh, did you? I just saw you with other models and you seemed quite fine without me.”

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Prompto laughs, playfully punching his shoulder. “You’re still my number one. Wanna see my photos?”

“Absolutely,” Noctis says, as if he’s still not replaying the words _you’re still my number one_ inside his head.

By the Six, he’s the lamest person he knows, and that’s counting on the fact that Prompto is his best friend.

They both sit down on the bench as they start scrolling through the photos. Noctis thinks about the lamest excuse in the world, and says something like, _Oh, I can’t see the photos well enough from here_ , and presses next to Prompto, thighs touching. He doesn’t comment on it, but hopes to all the gods that his blush isn’t as noticeable as he thinks.

Is this physical touch enough? Does he need to do something else? Prompto is quite close, Noctis can _smell_ him, and it’s hard to focus on the photographs. Prompto doesn’t really seem to be affected by this, so Noctis takes it as a good sign. They spend a good time on the bench, just talking, until they decide to head back to the hotel before Ignis can call them.

Noctis gets up first, offering his hand to Prompto for him to stand up, but he doesn’t let go.

“Noct?” Prompto asks, confused. “You’re still holding my hand, buddy.”

“Yeah. Got a problem with that?” he retorts back, more aggressive than he intended it to be. “Sorry, I – maybe I just wanna hold your hand?”

Prompto looks even more confused. “Fine by me,” he says, walking as if he’s not holding Noctis’ hand.

Noctis is glad he’s holding his gloved hand, because geez, he already started sweating, and Prompto – he’s not even fazed by it! He’s not sure whether he actually is happy that Prompto feels comfortable enough to just hold his hand if Noctis wants him to, or a bit concerned that Prompto is not asking _why_ this is happening.

Gladio receives him at the hotel with furrowed eyebrows and Noctis responds by shrugging as best as he can when one of his hands is busy with Prompto’s. Eventually, Prompto drops his hand so he can eat, and Noctis mourns the contact more than he expected.

Gladio approaches him once Ignis and Prompto are cleaning the dishes. “What was the hand-holding about?”

“The magazine said to break down the physical touch barrier,” Noctis explains. “I… think it worked.”

“What did Prompto say?”

“Nothing, really.”

“And what did _you_ say?”

“Uh… nothing?”

Gladio sighs. “You kids are a mess.”

Yeah, Noctis is aware. 

* * *

 

Good news: he shares bed with Prompto tonight.

Bad news: he shares bed with Prompto tonight.

The magazine did say to break the barrier, but would hugging your… _crush_ … while you’re both on bed be an acceptable thing? Is that even allowed? Noctis wishes he could check the magazine before getting into bed, but that’ll only raise questions and coax a confession he’s not ready for out of him, so. There he is. Awake in the middle of the night.

Prompto is sleeping next to him, quietly snoring, and Noctis figures he could use a cuddle just to send him off to sleep. Yeah. That’s… a good idea.

He slowly rolls over, and now he’s facing Prompto’s back, and tentatively puts his arm over him. Okay, good. He’s warm. He scoots a bit closer, until his chest is pressed against Prompto’s back, and he’s basically curled up against him.

Prompto shifts a little. “Hm… Noct?”

“I – I want a cuddle,” he stupidly explains.

Either Prompto is too sleepy to care or he just doesn’t mind at all, because he hums, pressing up more against Noctis’ chest and sighing softly.

“G’night, Noct,” he whispers.

Somehow he manages to fall asleep, and when he wakes up with Prompto in his arms, it takes a lot of self-control to not _yell_ into the void.

Yeah. Physical barrier: definitely shattered.

Gladio sighs exasperatedly when Noctis tells him what happened. He relates. 

* * *

 

“I think you’re pretty,” Noctis stupidly blurts out when Prompto asks why he’s been staring.

His magazine said to flirt with his best friend. Is this flirting?

“Oh,” Prompto says, slightly blushing. “Thanks, buddy. You’re not bad yourself,” he laughs, and fuck, is he ever gonna _ask_ why Noctis says all of this?

“Uh, thanks,” he stands there, annoyingly red and just frustrated. How _hard_ is it to flirt with your best friend?

Maybe that’s where Noctis is going wrong. He’s approaching him in a too platonic way. What _was_ the best way to approach him? He didn’t _know_ any pick-up lines, he didn’t know how to flirt. He was taught how to be a prince, not how to try to have a romantic relationship!

Embarrassingly enough, he actually looks up pick-up lines on the internet, which is probably the lowest Noctis has sunk in his life.

They’re at the Meldacio Hunter HQ getting a new hunt when he sees Prompto fiddling with his camera. Noctis clears his throat, which embarrassingly catches the attention of various hunters, and a bit low, he says:

“I’m not a photographer,” he begins, and Prompto looks up, expecting him to follow it up, “but I can picture you and me together.”

Prompto’s eyebrows shoot up slightly. He can feel the hunter behind the counter holding his breath. “Well, I’m a photographer,” Prompto says, “and we have a lot of pictures together, Noct, don’t be silly!”

Noctis wants to die.

The hunter behind the counter hands him the information he needs urgently. “I’m so sorry, man,” he says empathetically. “Just go do the hunt.”

“Hope it kills me,” Noctis bitterly responds, grabbing the hunt and still joining Prompto with the rest of them.

The hunt goes perfectly, as it always does, and Prompto really did a good job.  For starters, he didn’t even need a potion this time, which is miraculous because Prompto is the one who always tends to get hurt first over them. Is this a good time to flirt? When they’re dirty, sweaty, and hungry? Apparently, for Noctis it is.

He approaches Prompto and puts his arm around his shoulders, bringing him close.  “We make a good team, don’t you think?”

Big blue eyes make eye contact with him, and Noctis feels ready to drop his flirting persona and profess his endless love towards him. Prompto grins from ear to ear,                                                       putting his own arm around Noctis’ waist, holding him even closer.

“What can I say?” he proclaims with energy, “We’ve got real chemistry between us!”

How did he turn things around to make Noctis be the one blushing? He avoids staring at Ignis and Gladio, who look far too amused by their entire situation, and instead focuses on squeezing Prompto a bit tighter — if only to try and gain composure back.

Stupid Prompto.

“Your eyes,” Noctis says two days later, when he finishes fishing, “are bluer than this fish I just caught.”

He wants to take that sentence back so _badly_.

“Which, you know, means… it’s… pretty…”

“Did you just compare me to a fish?” asks Prompto, half-offended, half-laughing. “ _Dude_.”

“I…” Noctis sighs. “I give up.”

 

* * *

 

“How should I confess my feelings?” he asks Ignis, because. Well. It’s Ignis. He always has an answer for everything.

“Based on your past experiences trying to get your point across to him,” Ignis says, carefully, “I… have no idea. He’s as dense as they come.”

Noctis drops his head on the counter. Takka laughs.

“Are you feeling alright, kid?” he sounds both amused and curious. “Having romantic issues, huh?”

“Not even that,” he sighs. “He doesn’t realize what I mean and I’m about to give up.”

Takka laughs again. “Maybe a little food will push you in the right direction,” he turns around, going to the back on the kitchen and coming out with a plate especially for Noctis. “Don’t give up, kid. I know your friend probably feels the same. You should just go for it.”

“I fucking hope so,” Noctis mumbles, making Ignis chuckle. “Thank you, Takka.”

“Anytime, kid.”

 

* * *

 

According to the stupidest, dumbest magazine in the entire world, Noctis should just go for confessing his feelings to his best friend because by this point _they both should be well-aware of what the other wants_. Noctis decides that whoever wrote that magazine deserved to be sued, and he would probably sue them as soon as he became King.

Prompto sits down next to Kenny Crow. It’s late at night, and both Ignis and Gladio have decided to call it a night for them, but Prompto had too much energy to go to sleep, and Noctis followed him right after because that’s what’s best friends are for.

“You know, I don’t have many pics with my man Kenny,” Prompto says seriously, as if taking a photo with Kenny Crow is the highest achievement of anyone’s life. “Can you take a pic of us?”

“Sure,” Noctis replies, grabbing the camera. He steps back a bit, angling the camera just right in the way Prompto taught him, and snaps a photo of Prompto poking out his tongue as he has his arm around Kenny. It’s such a stupidly endearing photo; Noctis can’t help the little sigh that escapes him. “I love you.”

“What.”

Well. That was certainly unexpected.

“Yeah, it really _is_ unexpected,” Oh, he said that out loud. Prompto chuckles nervously, going red, quite noticeable under the lights of the Crow’s Nest. “Dude, the hell?”

“I…” Noctis gulps. “You heard it.”

“You just –” he gestures wildly at Kenny. “You just _don’t_ confess your feelings in a Crow’s Nest!”

“Why _not_?” Noctis frowns. “Got anything against Kenny Crow?”

“No! Just!” Prompto groans. “Couldn’t you be a _bit_ more romantic?”

Noctis’ frown deepens. “I have!” he makes a small pause. “I mean, I was bad at it, but I tried! I flirted with you! For fuck’s sake, we _cuddled_!”

Prompto stops. “…Were those not meant to be platonic?”

“Of – of course not, Prompto.”

“…Oh,” he says, as if everything from the past month starts rushing back to him. “ _Oh_.”

“Yeah, _oh_ ,” he huffs. “You’re the worst.”

He steps closer to Noctis, grabbing him by his arms, even as Noctis huffs even more. “Don’t be like that!” he laughs, “You just – I didn’t know if you wanted me to take you seriously!”

Noctis rolls his eyes.

“For what it’s worth,” he says, “I love you too!”

Now Noctis is looking. “Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Oh,” Noctis echoes back. “That’s… wow. I. I actually don’t know what to do now,” he confesses. “I didn’t think I’d get this far.”

Prompto presses up his lips against his own, effectively shutting his brain up. He breaks away _too_ quickly, leaving Noctis wishing for more.

“We could do that,” Prompto offers.

“Yeah, we could.”

And he doesn’t waste any more time, going in for another kiss.

(He’s only 55% disturbed about the fact they’re making out in front of Kenny Crow, which is both indignant and impressive at the same time.)

 

* * *

 

“Hello?” Noctis says into his phone. “Yeah, is this Lestallum’s _What You Need To Know Magazine_ Building? Yes? Okay. May I speak with the author of the article titled: _How to date your best friend_. I have some… _constructive criticism_ I’d like to offer…”

**Author's Note:**

> sometimes u just have awful mental health days and all you can do is write stupid fluff that has no real underlying serious tone
> 
>  
> 
> [be my friend (❁´◡`❁)](http://twitter.com/joshriku/)  
> 


End file.
